Malaysia’s Cat City is home to the world’s first cat museum and other feline treasures

If, for any reason, you don’t love cats, stay far, far away from Kuching. In this Malaysian town, there’s no escaping them. They are omnipresent: on rooftops, at traffic signals, on sidewalks, in parks. Not unlike other cities, you’d think. Except that these aren’t real cats we’re talking about. A bulk of Kuching’s ‘feline population’ is in the form of statues and sculptures, installed by the city’s smitten-by-kitten folk.

The story of Kuching, capital of Sarawak state on the island of Borneo, is inextricably linked to British adventurer James Brooke. After a stint in the Bengal Army, Brooke fought piracy in the Malay Archipelago, quelled an uprising against the Sultan of Brunei and was crowned Rajah of Sarawak in 1841. The dynastic reign of the ‘White Rajahs’ lasted till 1946 when it was ceded to the British. As per folklore, when Brooke first arrived in Kuching on his schooner Royalist, he asked his local guide the name of the town. The guide thought Brooke was pointing towards a cat, and replied ‘kucing’, Malay for cat. It was this miscommunication that is believed to be the origin of the city’s name.

Other theories derive the name from a tributary of the Sarawak River or a local fruit called mata kuching (cat’s eyes). Some even draw a strange but bizarre connection to Kochi (Cochin) in India, which possibly shares a link with the Chinese kaci or harbour. Whatever be the root, Kuching acquired the sobriquet Cat City in 1988 and there are ample visual reminders dotting its urbanscape.

The legendary riverfront is lined with historical sites like Astana, Fort Margherita, the Square Fort, the Courthouse, Charles Brooke Monument and the new legislative complex, but it’s hard to miss the feline motif across the city. A cat fountain (opposite Hotel Grand Margherita Kuching), a cat column capped with rafflesia flowers (on the roundabout at the corner of Jalan Padungan and Jalan Chan Chin Ann), statues of a cat family at North City Hall—Kuching seems to be suffering from cat fever!

The lone 2½ m tall, waving cat statue at the city boundary of Kuching North and Kuching South (on a traffic island outside the Chinese ceremonial gate) is hailed as the Great Cat of Kuching. The white cat with wire whiskers called Nick is dressed up in traditional attire during major festivals–red for Chinese New Year, green during Eid ul Fitr, Santa clothes during Christmas and a traditional Iban vest during the local harvest festival!

There’s cat graffiti sprayed on the walls, shops lined with cat souvenirs, catty t-shirts on sale, a Quiik Cat B&B and even a Meow Meow Cat Café! And just when you think Kuching might have taken the cat theme too seriously, along comes Cat Museum, perhaps the only one of its kind in the world. Located on the ground floor of the Kuching North City Hall on a 60m high hill, it’s perched like a cat on a high wall. At the officious entrance, you wonder if you’ve come to the right place until a tiny line of pugmarks on the floor leads you into the yawning mouth of a cat. Entering through the weird gateway past a souvenir shop and a giant feline photo cutout, you feel like Alice about to meet the Cheshire Cat as you go around the bend.

The museum’s four galleries are a tribute to the species with everything you wanted to know about cats. From their lifespan to veneration in ancient civilisations, famous cat owners, private collections of cat figurines and a staggering 4,000 cat artefacts! The museum also showcases cats as a theme in art, sculpture, literature, music and film. Posters, stamps, greeting cards, folk tales, games like cat’s cradles, Garfield, Felix, Hello Kitty, Puss in Boots, TS Eliot’s Macavity: The Mystery Cat, Andrew Llyod Webber’s musical Cats; you’ll find them all here. If you’re overwhelmed and at a loss of words, safe to say the Kuching cat got your tongue!